Despite street demonstrations in several Muslim countries and opposition voiced by some governments to the US-led war in Afghanistan, the Muslim world has largely remained silent about the American bombing campaign.
The attacks from land and sea have been carried out by Washington without waiting for the outcome of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is scheduled to meet in Doha on Wednesday.
The 56-nation OIC previously condemned the September 11 attacks on the US, but their main concern, according to the ABCNews, is the Bush administration's expressed intentions to pursue terrorists worldwide.
Arab foreign ministers are expected to meet Tuesday to coordinate their countries’ stands on the meeting agenda.
Meanwhile, many Islamic governments friendly with Washington are facing internal pressure to condemn the US-led attacks.
Hoping to maintain support for their efforts, US officials have stressed that the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorist organization are the targets.
But in a video released this week, bin Laden tried to rally all Islamic nations for a jihad - a word sometimes interpreted as "holy war" - against the United States.
AFP, in a summary of the Muslim World reactions, said that the Muslim states had ignored such exhortations, while expressing concern Monday about the consequences of the US attacks on Afghanistan.
Iran and Iraq were among the few to openly condemn the overnight military operation, while most other states stressed that the strikes should not harm civilians.
The offensive, which the Taliban militia described as a "terrorist attack on the whole Muslim world," sparked angry reactions from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, whose country has also been the target of frequent US and British raids since his invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
"The true believers cannot but condemn this act, not because it has been committed by America against a Muslim people but because it is an aggression perpetrated outside international law," Hussein said in a statement.
"America could have further recourse to force, which could last some time ... and spread to other countries as part of the settling of accounts sought by the United States," he added, echoing widespread Arab fears that the operation against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden could lead to a wider regional confrontation.
Afghanistan's neighbor Iran was also prompt to condemn the strikes, with foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi describing them as "unacceptable."
"They were launched regardless of world public opinion, especially the Muslim nations," he added.
For his part, the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington of "lying when it [claims that] the aim of its attacks against Afghanistan are to be a struggle against terrorism."
Malaysia was one of a few other Muslim countries to openly criticize the strikes. "War will only victimize the innocent. Terrorists themselves might escape," Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said, adding that his country would not support Washington's "Enduring Freedom" operation.
Tempered only by repeated calls to spare civilian lives, most countries, however, have voiced cautious support for the US-led attacks, indicating that Washington's international coalition to fight terrorism was holding.
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, expressed "its deep concern" Monday, with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda urging the US and British forces to "minimize the number of innocent victims."
Morocco's King Mohamed expressed his "wish for the operation in progress to be wise and measured," while in Turkey, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said: "We hope the United States acts wisely and that innocent people are spared."
Muslim countries in the Middle East reacted along the same lines, stressing however that Washington's fight against terrorism should include the search for a settlement to the Palestinian issue.
Jordan expressed support for the US action and called for Afghan civilians to be spared, but emphasised that the "fight against terrorism must not be confined to the military aspect but extend to the principal causes of deception in the region, that is to say a just settlement of the Palestinian question on the basis of international law."
In Cairo, a top adviser to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Osama Al Baz, also expressed concern for the Afghan people, but underlined Washington's "right to retaliate if it has conclusive evidence" against bin Laden.
Egypt's conservative official stance was seen as the main reason why there had been no major street protests in Cairo, as had been expected, according to Al Jazeera satellite channel's Cairo correspondent.
However, Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi accused Washington of mounting "its action deliberately 48 hours before the ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and a meeting of the Arab League to give a fait accompli to Arab and Muslim states."
And Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud called for "an international initiative to define the meaning of the word 'terrorism' and analyze its causes, and in particular the holding of an international conference to this end."
He repeated Lebanon's official position, that "one must distinguish between terrorism and the right of peoples to fight foreign occupation," in a reference to Israel's continued grip on land claimed by Beirut and the Palestinians.
For his part, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa called for restraint and warned against a widening of the conflict.
Palestinians reacted cautiously after the strikes started Sunday, seeking a joint Muslim stance to be adopted on the issue during Wednesday's OIC meeting.
Bahrain's Prime Minister Khalifa en Salman Al Khalifa was the only leader in the Gulf region to make a statement following the attacks against Afghanistan.
The PM expressed support for the war against terrorism, but added his concern that a "brotherly Muslim people" should not suffer in the process.
In Europe, Bosnia's top officials voiced support for the US-led military action in Afghanistan, but said they feared a possible widespread humanitarian crisis in the country.
For his part, Albanian Prime Minister Ilir Meta expressed his full support for the US action and said Albania was offering its assistance, including the use of air and port facilities.
But hardline groups from Jordan and the Palestinian territories to Indonesia reacted angrily to the strikes, and demonstrations were held in a number of places.
In Gaza City, two Palestinians were shot dead when fighting broke out between Islamist pro-bin Laden demonstrators and police.
Jordan has reportedly arrested ten students who were planning a demonstration, but so far the streets are calm in Amman and other cities.
Analysts cited by TV and other reports do not expect the regional situation to remain calm if an Arab country is targeted by the US forces.
Some analysts expect Syria, Iraq and Yemen to be candidates for Afghanistan-style attacks, an eventuality the OIC will try hard to prevent by lobbying Washington to behave with restraint – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
